Chapter 3

"This is the clown you hired specially for the evening, Darren? Why does he walk like a duck?" the scion beside Darren jested.

Darren cast a sidelong glance at me, the corner of his mouth curling into a wicked smirk. "Yes, I hired him to liven up the party. It's hard to find clowns as hardworking as him these days."

My head was heavy and spinning from the fever, draining me of any strength to pay any attention to Darren's taunts. All I wanted was for this evening to be over.

But Darren seemed to have other plans as he hovered before me, carrying his poodle.

"That was a decent performance today, Ethan." He grinned at me, stroking the poodle in his arms. "Looks like you picked up quite an impressive skill set in the years you spent away from home. Even Rollie was dazzled by your performance!"

As he spoke, he held up the poodle, Rollie, before my face. "Are you happy with the clown's performance, Rollie?"

I instinctively lifted my head, only for my blood to run cold when my gaze landed on the dog's neck. A gleaming lucky amulet was dangling from it.

It was the same lucky amulet Mom had given me. Darren had pulled it off my neck when he pushed me off the cliff's edge all those years ago. It was solid proof that he'd pushed me, and not the other way around!

I couldn't resist reaching for the amulet just to be sure.

"What are you doing, you lunatic?" Darren suddenly yelled, deliberately releasing his grip on the dog's leash.

Startled, Rollie began to dart through the crowd, knocking over the champagne tower on one side of the room.

The champagne flutes shattered as the tower came crashing down, and golden liquid spilled and splattered everywhere. The room exploded into chaos.

My mind went blank, and I scrambled after the dog, my arms and legs moving in sync. Just then, a leather shoe stepped on the back of my hand.

A sharp cry escaped me. I looked up to meet Darren's wicked gaze.

As he crushed my hand under his foot, he unclasped the limited-edition diamond watch on his wrist and carelessly shoved it into my arms. The next second, he shouted, "How could you steal my watch?"

The guests around us swarmed closer. I shook my head vehemently, trying to explain, "No, I didn't… I only wanted to take back my lucky amulet…"

"Stop!" someone thundered from the staircase. Mom had heard the commotion downstairs and was scowling as she came down. "Ethan!"

She closed the distance between us with a few angry strides, then slapped me without uttering another word. I was already weak to begin with, and the slap made me see stars. I hit the ground, the metal surface of my prosthetic leg striking the floor with a resounding hum.

Mom froze at the sound, a vague sense that something was wrong creeping over her, but she was too furious to dwell on it. "You're a lost cause! You didn't come home for seven years, and when you finally do, you decide to steal from one of us? How could you be so unscrupulous?"

I lay sprawled on the ground, holding the lucky amulet close. My tears streaked through the colorful face paint as they rolled down my cheeks. "Mom, I didn't steal anything! You gave me this lucky amulet! It's mine! Darren put it on his dog—"

"Shut up!" Mom didn't want to listen at all. She didn't even look at the lucky amulet as she snatched up Darren's diamond watch, seething, "Darren can do whatever he likes! It's his dog, and he can put whatever he wants on it! As for you—you're no better than a dog!"

Her words stabbed through my heart like a sharp blade, freezing me in place.

Darren approached me, menace flashing in his eyes. "What belongs to Mom belongs to the Jacobsons. You're already out of the family, so what right do you have to take our stuff?"

With that, he reached for the amulet to snatch it away from me. I guarded it with every bit of strength I had.

In our scuffle, Darren landed a kick on my left leg with the tip of his rock-hard leather shoe. It struck me where the prosthetic leg was joined to my stump, the spot that hurt the most.

A scream of agony tore from my throat, the searing pain draining every ounce of strength from my body. I released my grip instinctively, and the lucky amulet slid out from the safe cage of my arms.

Seeing this, Darren swooped in and crushed the amulet underfoot. He then let out a grunt as he toppled to the ground, gripping his wrist as he winced in pain. "Mom! Ethan pushed me! My wrist hurts…"

Mom lost it when she saw her precious youngest son injured. She hurried over to help him up, and when she turned, it was only to kick me as I lay prone on the ground. Her foot struck me right in the sternum.

I grunted, a coppery taste bubbling up my throat.

"Ethan, you're worse than an animal!" She continued icily, "Alfred! Bring me the agreement!"

The next moment, a document titled "Mutual Agreement to Terminate Parent-Child Relationship" was tossed on the ground before me.